Gwladys Yvonne McKeon (23 August 1897 — 15 August 1979) was a Welsh-born Australian marine biologist. Though her paid employment in science was brief, she made contributions as a trained independent researcher through her life, culminating with her popular handbook, ''Life on the Australian Seashore'' (1966).

Early life and education

Gwladys Yvonne James was born at

Llanelli Llanelli (" St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarth ...

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

, Wales, the daughter of a schoolmaster in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. She was the youngest of her parents' seven children, born when the family was visiting in Wales. Gwladys lived in Wales until the family returned to Australia in 1899. She was educated at Albert State School in Maryborough, Maryborough Girls Grammar School, and

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

, where she earned bachelor's (1918) and master's (1920) degrees in biology, focusing on parasitology.Patricia Mather
"McKeon, Gwladys Yvonne (1897–1979)"
''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 2000, accessed online 28 April 2016.

Career

Her first job after university was at the Tick Biology Station in West Burleigh, Queensland, where she collected data on the

tick Ticks (order Ixodida) are parasitic arachnids that are part of the mite superorder Parasitiformes. Adult ticks are approximately 3 to 5 mm in length depending on age, sex, species, and "fullness". Ticks are external parasites, living by ...

life cycle for livestock management applications. Within a few months she was hired as a microscopist on the Australian Hookworm Campaign. In the 1930s, she designed educational displays at the State Wheat Board in

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 ...

, where her husband was an office manager. While raising her children and out of paid employment, Gwladys McKeon wrote a handbook, ''Life on the Australian Seashore'' (1966). The book featured McKeon's own ink and watercolor illustrations, and was based on years of collecting invertebrates and plant life from her home at Point Vernon in

Hervey Bay Hervey Bay () is a city on the coast of the Fraser Coast Region of Queensland, Australia. The city is situated approximately or 3½ hours' highway drive north of the state capital, Brisbane. It is located on the bay of the same name open to ...

. Her methodical gathering helped to build research collections of specimens at, among institutions, the

Queensland Herbarium The Queensland Herbarium (Index Herbariorum code: BRI) is situated at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mount Coot-tha, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is part of Queensland's Department of Environment and Science. It is responsible for disco ...

.Queensland Museum
''Brilliant Careers: Women Collectors and Illustrators in Queensland''
(Queensland Museum 1997): 43.

Personal life

Gwladys Y. James married farmer Cecil McKeon in 1923, at Maryborough. They had five children. Gwladys Yvonne McKeon died in 1979, right before her 82nd birthday.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKeon, Gwladys Yvonne 1897 births 1979 deaths Australian biologists People from Llanelli 20th-century Australian women 20th-century biologists British emigrants to Australia